Arakaash Empire
The Arakaash Empire is a legendary lost realm thought to be located in the vast and mostly unchared Arak Mountains. Very little definative information is available as to what constituted this empire, but some evidence for an advanced culture capable of megalithic construction has been discovered and more exists from extant oral traditions.
Summary
At some point in the far distant past, a vast and mighty empire existed in the heart of the Arak Mountains that extended from the Arak Coast to the far western desert. Tales vary as to who or what beings built this civilization, but many point to Dwarves (or dwarf-like creatures) and others point to a race or species similar to what created the ruins along the Caldar River region such as Teboba and the Teeth of the North.
Where much study and investigation has been undertaken concerning the origins of the lost Caldar-region civilization, very little actual study has been done for the supposed Arakaash ruins. Little is understood about the date of their construction, other than the extant ruins are at least 2,000 years old (as old as the currently understood oldest records availalble). Several Sellenian investigators have proposed a construction date of more than 6,000 ago, based on weather and age effects on the known ruins, but this has not been conclusively determined.
Historical Basis
Along the interior regions of the Arak Coast are visible evidence of walls, buildings and pyramids that are almost entirely buried after eons weather and erosion. Observed examples of these ruins have been described as built of either huge and perfectly finished blocks of stone or carved from the living rocks of the Arak Mountains themselves. Some observers have noted that there are carvings or markings on some of the ruins that are similar to Dwarfish runes, but no official consensus has ever been reached on that. Evidence to the contrary seems to present in the fact that doorways and passages found within these ruins are of a much greater hieght and breadth that would be required by beings of Dwarven stature.
Another possible piece of evidence used to defend the validity of the legend is the mountainous road located in the Nordarak Mountains of Aria. Called the Pass Road or Route de'Col in Arian, is a more than 50-mile mountain pass that links the eastern regions of Daynmor with the Eau del'Est valley. This pass is unique, as far as most experts can find. The Nordarak Range is a particularly rugged and steep range of mountains, with variations in elevation over the course of a mile exceeding 900 feet on average, with extremes of 1,500 feet per mile. This geographic fact makes the chances of a naturally created pass with a height of 8,500 feet and a length of more than 50 miles (equating to an elevation change of less than 340 feet per miles) nearly impossible to calculate. Many experts thus believe the Route de'Col to be a severly weathered and eroded construction of a lost civilization. If this pass is an artificial construction, it is one of such a scale as to boggle the imagination, and certainly begs the question of what sort of civilization could accomplish such a feat?
There is a single document, attributed to a Quinary Quaesitor named Jhaan writing nearly 1,500 years ago (1,260 BF), that describes the discovery of a huge well or pit dug into the top of a steep-sided plateau. The opening of the pit was described as more than 500' across its widest point, perfectly circular, and with a descending ramp or stair slowly circling its way down into the unfathomed depths of the earth. Along this ramp, at regular repeating depths, were areas of excavation and construction that allowed large, even massive areas of tunnels, chambers, rooms and caverns to have been dug out of the earth. Jhaan states that due to the lack of light and water, he was not able to explore very deep down the ramp, or to enter into the first of these subterranian only for a few yards. Looking down the central shaft of the well, he could count at least 11 levels below the one he was on before the darkness became to great to see through in the furthest depths of the pit. This document is truly ancient and has never been substantiated or corroborated by any other evidence. No consensus exists as to the validity or accuracy of the Jhaan account.
What is understood to be fact concerning the lost Arakaash people is that: 1) They understood and utilized a written language, as evidenced by carvings that can still be seen in extant ruins; 2) They had a highly developed means of constructing colossal stone structures that were capable of surviving the ravages of time and nature for thousands of years; 3) They were most likely humanoid in shape, as seen in the design and size of entrances, passages and stairs still visible in the ruins that have been explored; 4) They have been gone from the region for so long that all memory of their existence has been lost to the ages.
Cultural Reception
There is a growing sect of the followers of Ilmarinen found mainly in the larger populations of the Dwarven Cities of Gorgomoth that believes that the Dwarven god built a palace for himself in a far southern range of mountains. He did this so he could be close to both his parents: Khazhukko god of the Sky and Khazhakka goddess of the Earth. Their tales and songs tell of vast a city under these southern mountains, and it is from this city that Ilmarinen will build and gift the divine magical mill that provides an endless supply of flour, salt and gold the Dwarves he determines to be most worthy.
Another culture that has grown increasingly interested in the existence of Arakaash is that of the Drowkin Elves of Dro'eladrim. These renegade exile Elves have established a homeland in a secluded valley of the Arak range, far south of the Arial River. The proximity of this growing community of Drowkin to the legendary location of the site of Arakaash has prompted a more serious and systematic pursuit of the truth of the legend. Many of the ruling elites of Dro'eladrim see the possibility of finding and occupying preexisting cities or fortifications as an ideal means of expanding their culture and increasing the power and influence on the continent.
The Drowkin of Dro'eladrim have dispatched numerous expeditions over the last decade in search of any evidence of Arakaash, but because of the difficult relations the Drowkin have with the rest of the world, information is not easily shared.
Date of Setting
Ages ago
Related Locations
